Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1887-04-16

Their side OF the story Is Told In the Pc
tIuon-They We're Terrorized by the Lsoti
Gane-sIek Men Made % Dance 70 the
Music OF the Six shoOtsr-A Reign OF
Terror That Led 70 the Bloody Sundays
Work ~.
The terrible tragedy enact at Coronado,
Wichita county, is OF such recent date that
the details are still fresh IN the mind OF
every reader OF the daily papers throughout
the country, fos they were wired 70 every
States. The horrible affair occurred
on Sunday, February 9th, and Tor
some days thereafter the terri
tory immediately surrounding the
Two rival towns, Leoti and Coronado, was
ia a state of terrorism; the citiZsns Of both
places were armed 20 the teeth ready Tor
desperate work; rifle pits were constructed
about Coronado and It was virtually IN
state of siege, the authorities we're dshed
and obedisEcs to Law WAS unth 5ught Of
Then came the appeal 70 the governor
the ordering under arms OF two companies
Of the Second regiment and the departure or
Adiutaut General Campbell and Colonel
Ricksecker to the front. By prudence and
good Judgment the terrified citiz=Es o. the
two towns between which sucn bitter enLnlIy
existed were induced to submit p6aceably 70
the agents OF the Law. Fourteen men were
arrested without resistance and lnearo5rated
az follows:
n. Maisoua, G. A. Hare, A. Il. Wheat and
". A. Frush were confined IN the jail at
Nv. Knapp, Frank S. Lilly, J. F. Oh
unger John b. Lsahy, r. s. Howard, M. A.
Walton, Charles Secrest, Wesley Moore,
Charles Flack and James 4. Secr6st were
confined in the jail at Dodge City.
Excitement Was temporarily allayed them
and IN the rush Of events which crowd upOn
each other so thickly IN this grandest OF
western states, the shameful Outrages in
Wichita county, whoever may have been to
blame, were for time lost sight Of. They
were recalled yesterday by the appearance
in the supreme court OF Mr.. !.
s w. Adg 9t Nswto %Sn Ka anGsh v 10
presented an app icatiOn TO the court, on
behalf Of each Of the above named prison
ers, for preliminary writ OF habees corpus
A separate petition was presented IN each
case, and as this seems intended to tell ''ths
other side of the story" and furnishes for
the first time an idea OF the defense which
is being advanced by those charged
with having committed such awful
deeds, one of these petitions which diner
only in the name Of the petitioner Is here
with presented in full, and though somewhat
tangled in ''the oobWebs OF the law viii be
found quite as exciting as though woven
with the thread of a strong imagination
The one selected reads as follows;
THE PETITION or JAMES sECEEsr.
State of Kansas, in the Supreme Court.
In the matter of the application Of James
gecrest for writ of habsas corpus.
Petition to the Hon. Albert II. Horton,
Chief Justice; State Of Kansas
James Secresb shows to your honor that he
ia unlaWfully Imprisoned confined detained
and restrained of his liberty by Fred Singer,
Sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, Ia the Jail
at Dodge City, IN said county, that said IL
legality consists IN this to-w1t; That on
the 9Th day OF March he was arrested by the
Sheriff of Wichita County, Kansas
on a warrant Issued by one Il. ID.
CoWen, justice Of the peace IN and for
LsOti township, said Wichita county, where
in your petitioner was charged with having
on the 9th day Of February 1887, COM
TIE oFFEssE OF MURDER,
by wilfully, deliberately and premeditatedly
md felOniOusly shooting and E1lhng one
Charles Coulter, William Rains and George
Watkins" That upon making said arrest
said sheriff conducted your petitioner to-
Qsthsr with thirteen others then and there
charged with the same ohanss5 and then anc
there arrested by said sheriff q - Cfh"e Of
in the town Of LeOa, in said
Wichita county, that the several homicides
upon which said charge OF murder Was
based, grew out of the anlmositles en-
gendersd by county seat hghtB then and
long prior thereto pending between the
town OF Coronado, OF Whlch your peuuOner
and the other persons so arrested were ell-
zens. and the said town OF Leohj that long
prior to the time said persons were killed
they with other
Of said town Of Lsoti, had frequently come
to the town Of Coronado armed with guns,
pistols, and other deadly weapons, at
which times they would and did
without any provOcation whatever, intict
upon whatever citizens OF the town Of COrO-
nado they would meet, the most brutal and
iuhuman insults, and commit upon them
violent Rgd fslOnious assaults, by shooting
Rr and heating them with guns and pistols,
aud compelling them at the muzzlss Of such
weapons to dance and perform whatever
ether humljatiug acts their cruel lmag gina
tons suggested TO them, upon the threat OF
day on which such persons met
ruary 9th, 1887, at about
O'CLOCK %. m; that on the morning of said
day, said Rains aud johnson, another citi-
zen Of LeoEi, came to said town Of Corona
do, uad stated to certain citizens there that
they would return in the afternoon and
"RoUsD Up" TIE TOWN;
that in the afternoon OF said day they did re-
turn to Coronado, accompanied by said
Charles Coulter, George Watkins, Frank
JeuuEss, A. II. Rooney and Emmett Den
ming, bringing with them Case OF beer, OF
time armed with one or more A5-calibre
Colts revolVers each; that Immediately
~eter their arrival they entered the
drly store OF one SchillinR, who was
slsk and in bed, and compelled him to
GIT UP AND DANCE
while they shot holes in the floor under his
feet: going ont upon the street they met one
F.. $. Lilly, afterwards arrested with your
petitioner, whom said Coulter struck upon
the face with his hand immediately following
il up with blow upon the head with his
pistol, WhereupOn said Lilly Ned. and said
| persons next fell upon one Lewis Jackson,
whom said Coulter struck with his pistol,
/ inf citing a severe wound upon his head;
| said persons next assaulted Charles and
| Ezra LOOMS upon whom they committed
vIOls ut and deadly assault IN which they
L - oh both
| and Charles IIOOmis through the right leg
| pv,t right arm, and inflicted two serious
/ wounds upon his head by striking him with
[ their pi-tOlli that at this point
TrE SHOOTING BECAAlF QUITE GENERAL
| being engaged in by all of the said persons
/ from Lsoti, indiscrimiuately, against the
| cir Zens of Coronado, and returned by per
80 3 Iu thsir behalf, TO your petitioners IN
/ known, which general and indlscrimlnate
shooting resulted in the death of Coulter,
Rains and Watkins; that the serious result
of SAID meeting greatly Infatuated the peo-
pie OF LeOu against the citizens OF
/ Coronado, and that your petitioners and
many other citizens Of Coronado were
| Threatened by lawless and desperate persons
in and about LsOti, with death and with the
general destruction Of the town OF Corona
do, for which unlawful purpose large
number OF Winchester rifles, ana other
deadly weapons were brought TO said town.
placed in the hands Of such laWless and deB-
psrat5 persons; that when your petitioner
and his associates we're arrested by the
sheriff Of Wichita county, as aforesaid they
were placed under a guard OF fifteen per-
/ sons, twelve of whom WeVs
IsFUELArED AND DESPERATE PAErIsAEs
Of the town Of Lsoti, to which they were
taken to appear before said justice: that
when they were brought before said justice
they were in great danger End were IN great
bodily fear Of being shot down or mObOed
by ths partisans of LIE I'll great numbers Of
wnom surrounded aud pressed them at all
points, while passing through and attending